Monks and protesters demonstrating at Pansodan Road

YANGON, MYANMAR - SEPTEMBER 26: Monks and other protesters march on Pansodan Road as they head towards the Sule Pagoda on September 26, 2007 in Yangon, Myanmar. Later, there was a standoff a few hundred meters from the Pagoda after heavily armed military soldiers, blockading the road, fired warning shots. The group stopped at the intersection to chant and pray for over an hour before continuing their march away from the Pagoda. People fled to flats and shops when warning shots were fired. Allegedly one person was killed and five injured at the beginning of today's march at nearby Shwedagon Pagoda. Mass protests began after the military government implemented dramatic price hikes in fuel prices on August 15th causing public bus fares to double and widespread economic hardship. The monks became involved when the leadership of initial protest marches were supressed. Uniformed security personnel were positioned throughout the former capital, patrolling watching crowds, telling them to not get involved lest action be taken against them. Military trucks parked less than a kilometer from City Hall and the Sule Pagoda, the plaza between the two buildings where in 1988, the government crushed similar pro-democracy protests by killing up to 3000 pro-democracy protesters. Government opposition has been repeatedly crushed in the country and the latest demonstrations have yet again led to mass arrests of political activists opposing the regime.